A Dialogue on Celebrity and Humanity

Wasn't really sure what I thought of Michael Jackson's death. I've long maintained that the lives of celebrities are not the public's concern, but I also acknowledge that the accusations against him (none of which he was ever found guilty of in a court of law) were questions of basic human decency. So I started writing from two perspectives and tried to see where I landed in between them.

Created using xtranormal. Part of the EdandDick series, though significantly less perverse.

I'd like to see your responses to the conclusion Ed and Dick come to, how should (or at any rate, how do) we approach the personal lives of entertainers and how should we approach the tragedies of people we never really knew on a human level?
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Ed and Dick come together in a less humorous atmosphere to discuss the death of Michael Jackson and to discuss the relationship between entertainer, human being, and fan.

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Ed: You've been hit by, you've been struck by, a smooth criminal...

Dick: Knock off that Alien Ant Farm bullshit, I've got news!

Ed: Alien Ant Farm?

Dick: Michael Jackson is dead! He died yesterday.

Ed: What?!

Dick: You can't tell me you haven't heard anything about it, it's been transmitted through every means of communication known to man! The ol' pervert's finally kicked it.

Ed: What the hell is wrong with you? The man's dead, show a little respect!

Dick: He's dead, yes, but the fact remains that he was a pervert who was shrouded in all kinds of shady stuff. Why should his death erase that fact?

Ed: Jackson's faults and hardships aside, the man is dead and should be given a little respect.

Dick: The fact that a man's dead doesn't make him a better man. The fact that Jackson's dead doesn't mean he deserves any more respect than I paid him to begin with. People don't mourn child molesters-they shouldn't-so why act like Jackson deserves our respect?

Ed: You callous bastard! Human life itself deserves respect. Even if all the things you believe about Jackson are true, that doesn't justify acting as though his life didn't matter. Even if he was a twisted individual, the fact remains that he was a human being, and deserves a little respect after his death.

Dick: Ed, people die every day, and I don't care. Neither do you. No one really cares about Jackson's death because it was a human life, people care because he was famous. If it weren't for the fact that he was the so-called King of Pop, people wouldn't give two shits about his death. If anything, they would cheer it, because without his fame we would just write him off as another pervert.

Ed: Regardless of the dark parts of his life, Jackson was a talented artist.

Dick: But talent doesn't make him a good man. That seems to be everyone's argument: that he was a talented artist. But talent doesn't make a man good.Would you excuse Chris Benoit of his actions simply because he was a talented wrestler? Of course not. Talent has nothing to do with human decency.

Ed: People like you love to watch celebrities fall. You like to kick the famous when they're at their lowest. I think you and everyone else who's taking this opportunity to make jokes and mock a dead man are shining examples of human indecency.

Dick: Oh come on. Little boys shorts half off? Poor black boy grows into rich white woman? We all made the jokes. I say anyone who changes their opinion on Jackson based on his death is weak-willed and irrational! If you thought he was worth making fun of before, then he's worth making fun of now.

Ed: The real fact of the matter is that Jackson was an entertainer and a human being. Even if he was a bad human-which I'm not saying he was-that doesn't affect his status as a great entertainer. But, you are right, even if he was a great entertainer, that doesn't make him a good person.

Dick: Fine, mourn and respect the entertainer, but leave mourning and respecting the man to the people who knew the man.

Ed: Very few of us knew Jackson, and we haven't got the right to act as though we do. But we knew an entertainer, and regardless of what kind of person Jackson was, the fact is that he was an influential entertainer. We as the masses knew Jackson in that way, and for most of us that's the only way we'll know him. So that's how we should think of him and remember him.

Dick: I'll grant you that.

Ed: [Pause]

Dick: [Pause] But at least we can agree that Farrah Fawcett was hot as hell.

Category:

Film & Animation

Tags:

• xtranormal
• Michael
• Jackson
• Ed
• Dick
• Death
• Celebrity
• Dialogue
• Intellectualism
• Pseudo-Intellectualism
• Text-to-Speech
• Response
• Sxephil
• Crappy
• Animation

[4wrdthnkndad]

This is a humorous and poignant video. I used it on my blog and have generated a fair amount of interest.

[EdandDick]

Hey, good to hear it! I'm glad someone enjoyed it.

[Stonebridge598]

throwing it out there.......... the people who said he molested the boy admited it was false

[birdy47]

oh and, which side are you on? Ed or Dicks?

[birdy47]

lol, good man, ignore the wierd guy at the bottom

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[MrRoachiee3]

stupid stupid stupid.

your own insecurities portrayed through hate. jackson was the king of popular music. he worked hard to have that title bestowed upon him. also, my my my, america. innocent until proven guilty. more like guilty until proven innocent even then if your black your still guilty. rot you jealous bastards. talk about your drug abusing alcoholic wife beating cheating on your wife, wanna be black, elvis presley. now thats a story. but never told. so called king. puke.

[thirtysilver]

GREAT video! I did not see the end coming. Hilarious! And I agree with your thoughts on Jackson.

[4wrdthnkndad]

This is a humorous, yet poignant video.